


The Doctor

by Katsalion



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2020-09-30 23:41:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20455493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsalion/pseuds/Katsalion
Summary: Set in a post-apocalyptic world.





	1. The Light

**Author's Note:**

> Work in progress. Just a fun little dabble for me to waste my time at work.

I remember lying awake that night, two years ago now, trying to remember that face, floating above a body that was barely there as he marched through the town for the first time, surrounded by our soldiers and council people. It was as if all the light that had ever touched him had disappeared from the world. He had the eyes of someone I could never forget. 

Two years had passed. Two years and yet we barely knew each other, seeing the other in passing or in town meetings. While those were frequent, we seemed to always be standing on the opposite side of the town hall. He had dark rings under his moss colored eyes, a stark contrast to his sun-starved complexion. It spoke volumes of the sleep he was getting. He was nearly always tired looking, but today was somehow worse. It was hard to not stare and that was a sentiment shared by the others as well. He was young, 30 something and baby-faced. Undeniably beautiful. His messy, raven black hair was swept back and out of his face with what seemed to be a girl's yellow hair clip. As he was tapping his red gel pen against his bottom lip and mumbling under his breath about my past vitals, I took the time to take in what was not only his office but his living space. It was dimly lit in the other room where I assumed he had been sleeping, up until I had woken him this morning for my appointment. In his living quarters, he had a small television set with a VHS player settled in front of a coffee table, playing old cartoons quietly, and a nicely woven together L-shaped grey sofa. I could smell tea and honey, but I was unsure if it was coming from his room or himself. His bed was large and comfortable looking, with piles and piles of blankets and pillows of all colors and textures stacked atop the mattress. It was the dead of winter, after all and heat was a commodity. I had an embarrassing thought of whether or not his mattress was more comfortable than mine. Quickly pushing that thought away, I focused on his lab coat that was surprisingly crisp and well maintained, considering the state of his hair and sleep hygiene. Embroidered in black, on the chest pocket was "Jun".  
We were different even though I shared the same discomfort that Doctor Jun did around the other townsfolk. And in honesty, they felt the same way about me. It was hard to ignore the staring and whispers. I had strikingly dark red hair that fell in thick locks down to my waist. This caused tension in the town. It wasn't natural. Possibly a mutation of being born during the outbreak. It made the others feel that perhaps I myself was a vision of something more horrible to come. In that regard, Doctor Jun and I were nothing similar. But our eyes were the same. Dark circles graced what would have been full and lively green eyes. It was the weight of being cast out and living alone from such a spritely age that made me look so aged and tired. There should have been spring in my step at the young age of 25. Instead, I carried myself stiffly and cautiously, poised like a battle hardened soldier. In a way, that is what I am. I started to wonder if we would ever speak again before he broke my focus. "Mmm...Rose..." He began. "Are you getting enough sleep?" I stifled a laugh, considering the state of his eyes. I settled for a small smile instead that quickly turned into a grimace. My house is on the edge of town. Most nights I can hear hoards of infected screaming and rattling the gates. And when that doesn't keep me awake, the cries of strangers being torn apart and killing each other really does me in. " That came off more dark and unwelcoming than I intended. I bit my lip in damnation of myself but it was the truth. It was hard not to seem sour about being kept awake by the dead. He offered a sympathetic turn of his lips and the edges of his eyes crinkled like crow's feet. I was surprised to see that reaction after spouting something so morbid. "I can see how that could keep one from sleep....Hmmm..." He paused in front of me, his eyes cast downwards before moving across the room in his rolling chair with ease, stopping in front of a counter with glimmering gold-handled drawers. His pale and slender fingers moved expertly, sorting through small plastic bags before he finally pulled two out with a hum of satisfaction. I made quick work of my evaluation. And I came up short. I put my hands up in surrender. "I just need something for sleep". His usually somber looking face split open in laughter. He held a hand to his heart, feigning cardiac arrest. "You have no faith! Let me explain. These are earbuds..." He pointed to the larger baggy with what appeared to be orange cones. "...and these..." he pointed to the smaller baggy "... are sleeping pills. Nothing as ominous as you're making it out to be. " He gave a soft chuckle at the end of his explanation.  
My skin was on fire but I couldn't help but to mimic his laughter. He was contagious. "Okay, I can try that." He grinned in satisfaction. "Alright". He rolled in front of me before stopping only a foot away. He gave both of my knees a tap with the end of his red pen, smiling tiredly before leaving the baggies in my lap. He stood up then and I remembered why he seemed to be menacing to some. He really was quite tall. Though, being tall wasn't the only reason some townsfolk seemed to cower away from him in the streets. It was his eyes that could seem so warm or so cold. Rather than their fear enveloping them in regards to the doctor, a lot of townsfolk also seemed to covet him. He began popping his neck and fingers. I took this as my cue to leave. He was a tired man and I had just woken him up in the early morning, nearly the night.  
"I guess I should be heading out. Thank you for seeing me so early in the morning. I just couldn't sleep and I figured we had an appointment today anyways..." I trailed off, feeling slightly dumb.  
"No worries, Rose. Please be careful on your way home. This weather is only getting worse, as of late. I'd hate to see something happen to one of my patients." I wondered if he smiled that way for everyone. I shook my head to myself. I really loved to read into things. 

I got up to leave, heading into the hallway that separated his medical room from the rest of the house when I noticed a silver picture frame hanging precariously on the wall. I felt that it would fall at any moment. I, for some reason, didn't immediately notice the people in the photo. What struck me was a flash of yellow. I stared into the eyes of the child wearing the clip in their bangs. Who was this? I heard the clearing of Doctor Jun's throat and I looked up to see him rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh! Sorry, I....thought I recognized something. I'll be going now!" I hurried out the large metal door that was the entrance to the underground cellar. It swung close behind me with a loud screeching noise but I thought I heard Jun go to say something. My face was hot with embarrassment though, and I didn't want him to see my eyes had prickled with tears. Why was I such a snoop? I needed to learn how to mind my own business. 

As I made my way home, to the thick of the woods, I stopped for a moment to look at the snow falling silently to the ground. I reached my hand out and let the snow pile quickly on top of me. A quietness crept it's way into my soul. I suddenly felt tired. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was a sadness that had slithered in. I looked around me, at the trees that towered over top of me. They seemed to lean in and suffocate me. I breathed and the trees backed off. I started once again to trudge through the snow that now threatened to topple me over with it's thickness and height. It clung to my pant legs and grazed my sleeves. Since my house was so far removed from the town, it was the last to be cleared of snow-...if at all. Whenever it got this bad, there was always some excuse that the path to my house couldn't be cleared. I made it to my front door. It was old, a deep brown, and creaked from rot. I had done my best to clean it up and reseal it but you can only do so much with something that's been weathered by age and years of no upkeep. I barged in in a way that would seem sudden to a person, had they been standing on the other side. Making my way in, I kicked off my heavy snow boots and went into the living room. I threw myself down on my dark green sofa and covered my eyes with my palms. "Why am I the way that I am?" I shouted, exasperated. The stairs creaked in a way that was unsettling. Every noise had a deeper meaning to me now that the infected had taken over the world. I made it to the top of the stairs and took a left into my bedroom. I pulled 3 thick, wool blankets out of my closet (all shades of gray and brown) and began distributing them even across my bed. I crawled in and thought to myself that the snow would muffle any noise of the infected and I may actually be able to get some sleep. I closed my eyes and thought about the doctor smiling at me. I wondered why he didn't smile more often in the town. He was a soft and gentle person but was hard to approach. I tossed and turned for a while before finally settling in to a slumber. My sleep was full of quiet snow, yellow hair clips, and red gel pens. 

Things were looking bleak outside the walls of our dusty, thrown-together community. Occasionally, we could hear packs of wild animals and the panicked voices of people foreign to us. Without ever looking, we knew that the dead were having their way with our old world. We didn't belong to that place anymore, and that's what we told ourselves when we found it within us to miss our past lives.


	2. Hot Cocoa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get a small look at what Rose is like. Rose brings hot cocoa for the Doctor.

I woke up in a cold sweat to the sound of howling and screaming from beyond the high electric fences and walls that protected our town. "Fuck" I say, completely exhausted and scared. I was sick of this life. Sick of waking up scared and in a sweat. As I cursed, I heard the walkie talkie that I keep on me go off.  
"Rose! Rose? Rose?!" I heard the panicked sound of our mayor's voice. "Yeah, Julia? What's up?" I said urgently, my face close to the device. I held it so close that my voice caused more static than necessary.   
"Oh, thank god you heard this. Jun is stuck in his office. I've been trying to radio everyone in this fucking town, to no avail. There's a big storm rolling in early tomorrow and he's completely out of supplies. Can you stop by the commissary for him? I just need you out there within the couple hours so I can guarantee you're back home and safe before the snow hits." Her voice held an obvious strain from stress.  
"Sure. Let me just make breakfast and I'll head that way with a shovel." I said nonchalantly. Internally, I was panicking at the thought of seeing the doctor again. I hadn't been able make my weekly appointments in months and I knew I was going to get a lashing for it. I had just been so busy with guard duty on the walls that I hadn't had the time for it.  
"You're a lifesaver. And make sure you stock yourself up plenty too." I could hear her grin and obvious relief through the walkie talkie. 

I ripped my blankets off of me and thought quickly about what he would need. If the storm hits hard, he's going to need extra blankets and pillows to keep warm. I carried a few wool blankets and grey cotton covered pillows down the stairs and started loading up my little red wagon. I decided it would be an olive branch if I made some hot cocoa. I began boiling water on the stove and started preparing biscuits and gravy. This would warm him up. When the biscuits were golden brown and the gravy was thick and peppery, I stirred in my cocoa mix to my boiling water. I then removed it from the heat and transferred it to aluminum mugs with lids. I decided to sprinkle marshmallows on top of my cocoa. Hopefully, that wouldn't be perceived as childish. I loaded that and our breakfast up with my supplies. I checked my fridge and decided I could also spare some of my homemade left over chocolate chip cookies. I made a batch big enough for this town. I tossed those in along with the rest of my food, and then covered my wagon with a tarp.  
I bundled up in my warmest sweater and swept my long black hair back behind my ears before pulling on a hat, scarf, and coat.  
I headed towards the commissary and picked out what I deemed the most important commodities. We had no way of knowing how long this storm would keep the townspeople stuck. On my way towards the doctor's office, the sounds of screaming and crying beyond the walls broke through my quiet trance. I felt uneasy. There were people dying at this very moment and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I tried to block out the noises of what would seem was a person's limbs being torn away from their cold body. This was the world now and it would do me well to not to be surprised by that. I made a quick path to the office and before I knew it, I had arrived before Jun's office door. I took out my shovel and began moving snow and ice away from the door. It was piled higher than I was tall and the snow was coming down nearly as fast as I could clear it away. As I cleared the last of the snow from the bottom of the door frame, I heard noise on the other side. It swung open inside and I had a clear view of the doctor looking at me with furrowed brows. "Rose..." He paused. "You have to come inside. How long have you been out there? It's much too cold to be making the trek all the way from where you live to my side of town. Come inside. " He berated me. I began to protest as I shuffled inside. "I didn't have a choice, Doc. Julia radioed me this morning to tell me you're out of supplies and stuck inside. I couldn't exactly let you die. " I ended my sentence in frustration. I slipped off my outerwear and pulled my wagon through the door. "Anyways..." I grinned. "...I have something for you. " I produced a hot cup of cocoa and the plate of biscuits and gravy. He gasped audibly before letting out an exclamation. "You wonderful, wonderful woman. You're irresistible. " He smiled warmly at me. I looked down at my feet in embarrassment. "Yeah, yeah. You're just trying to butter me up after yelling at me" I laughed softly. He gave me a knowing look before shrugging. "You've missed some appointments. I know that you're busy, but you're not in the best health and I don't want to see something happen to you that was avoidable. Besides, if the town beauty queen turns up dead, I'm never going to hear the end of it. " He finished in a jocular tone. I couldn't help but smile at that. He must have heard some of the men in the town talking. I took a moment to take in his appearance as I set down his food and drink on a large wooden coffee table in front of his deep brown, cloth sofa. He was wearing an olive green sweater that could have gone toe to toe in a similarity contest with the one I was wearing. His hair was disheveled but this came as no surprise. It was tucked back behind his ears. I looked up at his face and realized he was staring at me. "Oh." I couldn't help but let out a small sound. "Sorry, I was just thinking that our sweaters match." He stood with a blank expression before a slow smile spread across his face. It lit up his eyes in a way that you would think the dark circles would prevent. Just then, my radio went off in a flurry of static. "Rose? Tell me you've made it back to your house" I heard Julia practically begging me. "Uhhhh...." I watched the doctor's lips turn into a tight line. I had loligagged on my way here and ended up taking more time than I thought I would. I had never been good at time management. "I'm at Jun's house...I just got here." Julia groaned in exasperation. "Do you have enough supplies for two people? Because the storm is rolling in faster than we anticipated and I don't want you to try making your way back home now. I honestly don't know how long this storm is going to last. You may need to wait it out there for a week or two. " I had adeptly packed my red wagon for months because I figured I would just restock all of Jun's supplies to make his life a little easier. "I'm stocked up enough for quite awhile. I think it will be fine. " "Okay, I'll keep you up to date on the storm's progression. Just wait it out for now. You at least won't be able to miss your appointments this way..." I glared at the walkie talkie before setting it down on the coffee table. "I'm really, really sorry about this...I don't at all mean to invade your space. I can-" He cut me off with a wave of his hand. "It's no problem. I want you safe and if that means you're here, then so be it. Now! Let's get to eating this delicious breakfast you brought." I wanted him to be more than apathetic about me staying so I decided now would be a good time to produce my homebaked cookies. I made quick work of the distance between myself and my wagon before pulling out the plate of cookies from the folds of the blankets I had brought. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a question on his lips. " I have something for you." I said as I shoved the plate of cookies into his hand. I watched him peel back the foil from the plate and then a smile played at the corners of his mouth. "I'm gonna have to keep you around. No one has ever spoiled me as much as you." This made my mouth turn up at the side. He made me feel special when he talked to me like I was valuable. I was used to being spoken to like I was constantly out of place. Even though I had been here for two years, I hadn't made much progress in the way of building relationships with the other townsfolk. Except of course for our mayor, who for some reason had latched on to me like a long lost mother. I decided to live on the outskirts of town because it had just made sense to me to stay out of the way of other people. Jun made his way towards the sofa before plopping down happily in front of his meal. I brought my breakfast over and say down beside him. "Don't lie if it's gross. " I said with a small elbow to his ribs. He laughed and batted my arm away. "I can already tell that it's good from the way it smells." I watched him fork a large piece of biscuit, generously slathered in gravy. He carefully placed it in his mouth before making a hearty "Mmmm!" sound. This made me smile inwardly with satisfaction. I wasn't good at a lot of things but cooking and baking were my forte. "I could get used to this. Maybe you should just move in?" He was suddenly serious. I felt my mouth hang up before he fell into a fit of laughter. "Of course I wouldn't force you to move in with me as a live-in maid." He put a hand on my head and gave it a rub. "I guess I tease you too much."

He suddenly lifted his hand away with what seemed like a moment of embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to cross a line."  
"It doesn't bother me. You don't bother me at all." He smirked. "Well, that's good to hear


	3. Chapter 3

Talk through walkies talkies. jun hears screaming from rose's side.


End file.
